Posted on 07/05/2013 5:20:06 PM PDT by SharpRightTurn
What happens when you bring a Lamar Alexander to a Chuck Schumer fight? He turns around and becomes a weapon for Chuck Schumer and his allies, albeit an ineffective one.
In 2007, before running for a second term, Alexander rightfully noted that “to regain the public’s confidence, we ought to scale it back and fix the problem step-by-step by absolutely securing our borders first, then enforcing our laws without amnesty.” Now, after years of voting for more spending, higher taxes, more debt, expanded government healthcare, massive energy regulations and subsidies, and liberal judicial nominees, the former third ranking Senate Republican has become a Chuck Schumer Republican. He led the fight, along with Bob Corker, to push a fledgling amnesty-first bill across the finish line.
Naturally, his constituents in Tennessee – a state where Obama lost 91 of 95 counties – are not too happy with him. So he’s going up on the air with a $180,000 media campaign featuring Rand Paul. What is he touting? His fishing bill:
In an apparent effort to boost conservative support, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) has launched his first TV ad campaign of the 2014 cycle with a spot featuring footage of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that touts a measure Alexander spearheaded to protect fishing access.
“We don’t want a government that’s strong enough to make our lives risk-free. We can do that for ourselves,” says Alexander in the ad, which touts his work to pass a measure that placed a two-year moratorium on efforts to restrict fishing access in certain areas in the state.
The spot includes footage of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who co-sponsored the measure, saying: “Nobody wants to say no to Lamar Alexander.”
Fish? Really? After voting for mass amnesty and new red tape on ICE agents with the hollow promise of enforcement 10 years from now, I don’t think we will have to worry about free fishing. The entire country will be voting like California, and fishing will be the least of our problems.
Besides, it’s a bit amusing to hear him speak of a risk-free society when he voted for the bailouts and against eliminating government subsidies of energy. Then again, he was one of the few Republicans to vote against a resolution disapproving of Obama’s job killing Utility MACT regulations that would ostensibly shut down coal-fired power plants. A born-again free marketer indeed.
Yes, we are impressed that he raised $2 million from his special interest friends. But there are diminishing returns to how much love money can buy you in a conservative state with high-information voters. A few corny ads about fishing certainly won’t ameliorate his record as a Schumer Republican.
And a 2 year moratorium of fishing in certain areas is going to make it O.K.?
Please, Lord, deliver us from this political cross-dressing, patrician, John Kerry want-to-be.
Please, FReepers, if a decent primary opponent comes forward against Lame, contribute what you can to retire this waste of space. My gag reflex cannot take another 6 years of destruction by both Dhimms and Big Government Republicans like Lame Alexander.
Lamar needs to be priamaried.
Any real Conservative would probably be in favor of allowing people to fish AND be against things like the amnesty bill, time to dump alexander along with graham. I voted for alexander when I was a Tennessee resident, don’t believe I could do it again.
The *only* reason I voted for him last time was because I was hoping that the current pres__ent wouldn’t have a 60 vote majority in the senate. Now, I don’t care. I will vote democrat next time if he isn’t primaried.
Alexander should sponsor an anti flag burning bill.
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
” massive energy regulations and subsidies,”
I’ve not seen his tv ads, but he is flooding radio with a BS ad touting a bill that encourages “renewable cheap” energy. I want to puke every time I hear that tax happy aholes name. Too bad that he won’t be opposed in a primary by a viable candidate and will be re-elected.
” I voted for alexander when I was a Tennessee resident, don’t believe I could do it again.”
I held my nose and voted for him against Ford jr, but won’t vote for him again under any circumstance
Or Corker either
Whose gonna step up to the plate who can win?
“The spot includes footage of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who co-sponsored the measure, saying: “Nobody wants to say no to Lamar Alexander.”
“Whose gonna step up to the plate who can win?”
No one on the radar at this point. Alexander will carry east and middle TN no matter who they throw at him. West TN will go dem because of Memphis. East TN is die hard rep, but they are lib rep
I live in TN and if Lamar is the nominee, I’ll not vote for Senator.
Paul has always supported illegals so it is no surprise he loves Lamar.
Thankfully, TN Congressional Representative Diane Black has a totally opposite view regarding AMNESTY.
Lay-mar is such a disgrace and an incentive to form a third party and bury this one party system.
TN gave us the Gores.
Add corker to the list, he voted yes too.
Senile old fool needs to resign, I know we will get another moderate out of the moderate governor, but he may be scared enough to want to keep the job and vote more conservative than the senile old fool in the plaid shirt.
Marsha blackburn could have that seat....
Not sure what’s stopping her
I’ll ask someone watche local pols better than me
This assclown Alexander is one scumbag that HAS to go. I really hope there is SOMEBODY capable of primarying Alexander out.
Lamar! is no babe in the woods. He learned at the foot of Nixon. Tactically-speaking, he did something brilliant. He essentially got EVERY Republican official of note (and the money people) to back him, and in doing so has headed off any potential challenger that has the means to defeat him. Now, if he had to play dirty, he could do that, too. Since we have WIDE open primaries, an abomination if there ever was, he can have Democrats flood in to vote to halt any Conservative threat (or fund a ringer if need be, a purpose Van Hilleary served in ‘06 in the Corker-Bryant primary). Corker has done the same thing. Both are the poster boys for closed primaries.
The irony is that Lamar! is a rank hypocrite who stated in his own book, “Two terms and OUT !” Well, kids, he served his two, and it’s time to take what will be (in January 2015) his nearly 75-year old ass out of the Senate. Other than by retirement or death, it’s going to be near impossible to blast either of those two phony, smirking RINOs out of their seats. As for me, I will not rubber stamp their treachery. I voted for Lamar! once in 2002 (only in the general), since I didn’t want my Democrat Congressman (Bob Clement) as Senator. He did not earn my vote in 2008. I voted once for Corker (again, only in the general), because I didn’t want Junior Ford in the Senate. I voted for Corker’s Democrat opponent in 2012 who ran to Corker’s right on social issues (the Dems wrote their guy off as a right-wing “hater”).
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